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Friday, June 27, 2014

Hi everybody--it is officially summertime and this weekend is the 4th of July. The perfect timing for another giveaway put together by Lisa of Planet Weidknecht and Bonnie of LeahSay’s Views. As always they have done a marvelous job and have my thanks!

I generally hide out in my apartment on July 4th weekend-I am not a fan of "bombs bursting in air" or on the roads!! Francis Scott Keye wrote what became our National Anthem in 1814. I think this is a good time to remember the words

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I actually copied and pasted the above from the USA flag site (I know the first stanza by heart--but the rest?) And if someone could please explain why tears start in my eyes every time I read, hear or sing this song-I would truly appreciate knowing. As an aside I would like to mention that peoples of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths actually worship the same God. It is in the prophets and their teachings that they differ!!

Now on to the giveaway--Miki's Hope will be giving away a $25.00 Amazon GC or PayPal to one lucky reader. But there are others participating in this hop as well (you can find a linky list below the giveaway form!

This July 4th, we have plans for a cookout by the river. Our son may be coming home that weekend too, so we plan to invite a few of his friends. We usually do a little tubing, then grill and end the day with a few fireworks :)

We live in a very small town so the parade is kind of the highlight of the 4th. Our grandmother's house in on the parade route, it's perfect! She passed away in December, so this will be the last year we get to celebrate there before the house is sold. It will be a day to remember her as that was her favorite holiday, and a day to be with family.

Well I know I'm gonna eat. Then I'll probably eat. After that I expect I'll eat. As who I will be eating with and what I'll be eating...no idea as of yet. Hopefully it won't be just a sandwich all by myself.

This weekend on Saturday we are going over to my son's grandma's house for a BBQ. On Friday, we will probably stay home since there are too many people to deal with where the city fireworks are set off. We are also getting some things ready to sell on Craig's list and ready for our yard sale the following weekend.

It will just be my fiancé and I at home this Fourth of July weekend. Our kids went to their older sisters house to spend the holiday with her and her family. My fiancé and I will probably do a small little cookout for just the two of us and possibly go over to my grandparents since they live next door.

I'm actually hosting a House Party for Hasbro Games' Simon Swipe! After the fun party stuff, we'll head into the hills behind our house in our trucks to watch the fireworks. That's about it, though. It's supposed to be 110 degrees this weekend ... so we'll be inside, blasting the a/c.

Well, we're having a hurricane & the fireworks didn't get cancelled so I wasn't able to go (my ride didn't want to go in the rain) and my mom took my oldest son for the night and we did nothing :/ sadly. it was a very wet 4th!

This 4th of July we went with the whole family to the beach! We had ourselves a nice little picnic and went seashell hunting. We stayed around until quite late late into the evening to light up some fireworks. It was tons of fun, and can't wait until next year! =D

The fourth of July weekend also happens to be my wedding anniversary weekend. We went out for a nice dinner on Saturday night (Seasons 52 in Tampa) and then on Sunday we went to Universal Studios Orlando to try to get into the new Diagon Alley (which we did!). We spent the morning at Universal, went out to lunch at my favorite vegan restaurant in Orlando, then returned home and watched movies for the rest of the evening.